MyHeritage thows down the Hammer and goes for the Liebross

Almost four years ago, I wrote a blog post lamenting the fact that a FamilySearch indexing project for New York passenger manifests was indexing the same fields that other organizations had indexed. While I saw the value in having access to independently indexed databases, I was hoping some entity would index some additional potentially useful fields, such as name and address of the person the immigrant was joining in the USA. At that time, no such luck.

I cannot say that all my prayers have been answered - I am still waiting for searchable addresses - but MyHeritage has raised the bar with their recently updated database, "Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957." Now, one's name searches return not only passenger names, but also names of those to whom the passengers were headed.

I have a few uncommon surnames in my family, so I did one of my usual searches on the surname Liebross (not exact). It became immediately clear that my great great uncle Simon Liebross, husband of Ethel Hammer, was a magnet for new immigrants, especially from his wife's Hammer family. Here are a few more of my posts about the couple: Simon's first arrival and naturalization, arrival with Ethel in 1890, and 1892 NY State census.

Now, I originally did not know exactly where Ethel was from. Her 1890 Hamburg passenger manifest said "Krasno."[1] There are several Krasnos in Eastern Europe. But, years ago, I was contacted by Ava Cohn (Sherlock Cohn) who is related to the Hammers. She recalled that her family talked about a relative with the surname Liebross. When she saw that I was researching Liebrosses, she contacted me. She let me know that the Krasno on Ethel's manifest was also known as Krasnoyil's'k.[2]

These are all the Hammers (mostly from Krasnoyil's'k) I located by searching on the surname Liebross:

• Adolph Hammer, 23 years old, from Krasna Ilska, Austria; arrived on 31 March 1907 on the S.S. Graf Waldersee; heading to his uncle Simon Liebrus at 181 Melrose, Brooklyn;
• Mizi Hammer, 16, from Krasna, Austria; arrived on 29 August 1907 on the S.S. Patricia; heading to uncle, Mr. Libros at 181 Melrose St., Brooklyn;
• Pinkas Hammer, 23 years old, from Krasna, Austria (mother Sara Hammer in Krasna); arrived on 1 August 1908 on the S.S. Amerika; heading to uncle, Simon Liebross, at 181 Melrose St., Brooklyn;
• Mariem Hammer, 21 years old, from Krasna, Austria (mother Ester Hammer in Althutte, Bukovina)); arrived on 6 August 1910 on the S.S. Amerika; heading to uncle, Symon Lybros at 940 Gates St., New York; and
• Rafael Hammer, 34 years old [mother Ester Hammer from Althutte (now known as Staro Krasnoshora - 6 km northwest of Krasnoil's'k)], and Golda Hammer, 1.5 years old, from Alt Hutte; arrived on 6 August 1910 on the S.S. Amerika; heading to Symon Libros at 990 Gates St., New York.

In truth, I had acquired some of these manifests previously without the "going to" information. I have not done much research on these people. For now, I will leave that to Ava, who is researching this family. I do know, however, that Pinkas became Peter Hammer. After her husband Simon died, Ethel Hammer Liebross was enumerated living with Peter and his wife in the 1930 census. Ethel was identified as Peter's aunt.[3]

Then, there were two others identified via the MyHeritage database whom I had not previously seen. One identified as a cousin (who may or may nor have been):

• Mortko Riesenberg, 36 years old, from Galicia; arrived on 10 August 1902 on the S.S. Ryndam; identified Simon as a cousin living at 244 Boerum, Brooklyn, NY. 

And one immigrant, who identified Simon Liebross as his friend after he'd said on his manifest that he did not know anyone in the United States:

• Moses Breier, 32 years old, from Mihalen, Rumania [likely Mihaileni, Romania; 40 km SSE of Czernowitz]; arrived on 26 Jun 1898 on the S.S. Werkendam; identified Simon as a friend living at 244 Boerum, Brooklyn, NY.

Unfortunately, I have yet to zero-in on these last two in records after their arrival in the United States or find them in Bukovinan or Galician records. But, more clues! More work! Love it.

MyHeritage is to be commended for thinking outside the usual search box.

Notes:
1. Manifest, S.S. Deutschland, January 1890, p. 7, lines 190 and 191, Simon Libros (age 35) and Etel Libros (age 28); images, "Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2008).
2. Krasnoyil's'k is a community that had been in Bukovina, 41 km southwest of Czernowitz. Today the community is in Ukraine. I am not entirely sure where my great uncle, Simon, was from originally. The Liebrosses were from Zaleszczyki, Galicia (now in Ukraine) in the 19th century. Sometime toward the end of the century, some of them moved from that town to Vienna and, in the case of my part of the family (my ggf Leizer Liebross, Simon's brother), to Radautz, Bukovina (now in Romania).
3. 1930 U.S. census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district 24-1668, sheet 10A, dwelling 67, family 180, Peter and Yetta Hammer and Ethel Liebross; images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2013).

Indices: Explore all Options

It's one o'clock in the morning. Do you know who else has indexed your data set?

Record collections are coming online with astonishing frequency. Many times we sigh with resignation as company B follows company A, which published the same collection a year or so previously. Later, company C provides the same  online collection. Aside from competition for customers, what's the point? The point is, researchers can benefit from independently indexed collections.

from Wikimediacommons

There are several reasons for searching the same or similar collections on more than one website. Different companies may have:

• their own proprietary image enhancement technology that may significantly improve viewing of otherwise identical images (compare, for example, enhanced 1940 U.S. census images on a variety of websites);
• advanced search options and tools allowing one to focus one's search energies;
• a variety of methods for moving within datasets to browse for images of interest (for example, I much prefer to browse manifests on sites that allow me to jump around among the images, not force me to advance only one image at a time; I also like to be able to rotate census images so I can read through the street names quickly when I am searching through an enumeration district); 

But none of this is important if you cannot find the image or have no idea where to look within the collection. 

Indexers often get a bad rap. Yes, indexing is a prime area where errors may be introduced. Ancestry has been criticized for using foreign indexers. FamilySearch has been criticized for not allowing input for corrections to their indices. A common complaint from researchers whose ancestors came from Eastern Europe is that Ellis Island manifests have been indexed by researchers who have no familiarity with those surnames and places. Because of that, some of the indexing errors seem bizarre to those of us who have some familiarity.

The truth is, despite these issues, indexing is the heart and soul of genealogy research. Yes the computer has revolutionized research. But, if not for indexing, much of that would not have been possible.

We all have our favorite websites and search tools, but when all else fails in your search, bail and go to another site that has the same collection, indexed via a different set of indexers.[1]

I will admit, that I have been an ardent follower of the freely accessible Italian Genealogy Group and German Genealogy Group indices of New York City vital records. These entities partnered in a volunteer effort to index records available through the New York City Municipal Archives. I would sometimes use the Steve Morse One-Step search forms to access them. But, even after Ancestry put indices of these same records online, I still saw most benefit in staying with the ItalianGen/GermanGen indices.

Unfortunately, one thing we do not see often enough with complex record sets is independently derived indices that include different/additional information. I have lamented previously that I did not see much value added when FamilySearch decided to initiate their own indexing project for New York manifests. I wanted to see additional information indexed, such place of birth, closest relative in the old country and address and/or name of the person the immigrant planned to meet at their destination.

New York City vital records? Enter FamilySearch. 

On 20 March 2015 they added [2]:

• New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949

• New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909

• New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1866-1938

As I usually do, I immediately tested the new indices with one of my unusual family surnames: Liebross. I figured after all these years I'd pretty much exhausted the Liebross vital records collections in New York City. But, FamilySearch added an element to their indexing of death records that had not been included by previous indexers: parents' names (parents' names are also included in birth and marriage record searches).

ItalianGen/GermanGen and Ancestry indices have coded first name, age at death, date, certificate number and county. Results in the marriage index also provide easy access to spouse names.

Using the Steve Morse search form one can also get results that include the FHL microfilm number. One would not see parents' names until one had acquired the original record. Where there were several people indexed with the same or similar names, this created a bit of a crap shoot. Many of us have ordered records we thought might be correct only to discover that the parents names were not. 

The new FamilySearch index not only adds a bit more certainty to the process of record acquisition, but also to the hope of finding new records.

Results of my recent Liebross search surprised me. Early in my family history research I'd found that my great aunt Rose who, I thought, had never married, had indeed married (in 1926) and later divorced (in 1931) a dentist named Nathan J. Bernstein. I'd located the marriage certificate indexed on ItalianGen.[3]

In FamilySearch's new NYC Municipal Deaths index database, I waded through the expected indexed records and then, towards the end, noted records where Liebross was the deceased's mother's surname.

Oh, my! Rose Liebross Bernstein had a baby who had died: Ira Howard Bernstein.

 

He was born and died between census enumerations. It is unlikely I ever would have found him. While I have since found him in the same cemetery (Mt. Lebanon) as the rest of the family, he and his parents were not buried in the same plots.  

[It is interesting to note that when I searched on Liebross in the FamilySearch marriage index I received no hits. Several Liebross family members are identified in the ItalianGen marriage index search results. This is another example of why one should use more than one index in one's searches.]

Of course indexers always make choices. While FamilySearch has included much more information that previous indexers, cause of death is not indexed; nor identification of the informant, the doctor, funeral home, etc. I have no particular criticism of that.  

The results provide more information than may be searched from FamilySearch's search box. It would be nice if the search box allowed for searching on particular dates (or even months) of death and birth. Right now one may only search on a range of years. Why not allow searches on particular addresses (the smallest geographical unit one may now search on is city)?

Regardless, this new index is huge. I have already found my great aunt's previously unknown child. By searching on family surnames, one may be able to find death records for women whose married names were previously unknown. 

If FamilySearch allowed more specific time or area searches, one one might be able to conduct research into community deaths in one small area of the city. Think of the context one might develop for understanding one's family and their lives at particular times and places.

I now await delivery of a copy of the original death record for Ira Howard Bernstein from the New York City Municipal Archives.

Let's hope new indices keep coming from a variety of sources. As researchers we must try new indices to expand our opportunities for success. 

Notes:
1. It would be nice if companies were up-front about how their collections were indexed? In addition to collection descriptions on websites, they should include how indices were derived. That way one might be able to tell if indices on different websites were independently developed or copied from another (also accessible) source.
2. The data sets do not actually contain death records from 1949 or marriage records from 1938. The records end the year before those designations. It would be good if FamilySearch corrected that so researchers do not think they might find death records from 1949 and marriage certificates from 1938.
3. Queens County, New York, marriage certificate no. 3319 (1926), Nathan Judas Bernstein and Rose Liebross, 14 November 1926; Municipal Archives, New York.

His name was changed at Ellis Island!

I have found a name change on an Ellis Island manifest. Yes, I know I have written about how names were definitely not changed at Ellis Island. I have spoken to groups and explained why name changes could not have occurred at Ellis Island.[1] So, what can we make of these two associated emigration records?

My grandmother's first cousin, David, traveled from Hamburg and arrived in New York in 1907 as "Duvid Wenkert." This is a portion of the manifest developed in Hamburg by the shipping line. The red arrow points to his name on the image.

"Hamburger Passengierlisten, 1850-1934," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2014), manifest, S.S. Amerika, Hamburg to New York, departing 31 October 1907, line 1111, David Wenkert (image 267 of 286); citing Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 195; Page: 2829; Microfilm No.: K_1802.

 

Name detail from Hamburg manifest

Prior to his voyage to New York, Duvid Wenkert, 17, had been living in Uscieczko, Galicia, Austrian Empire (today, Ustechko, Ukraine).

Town detail from Hamburg manifest

The first page of his Ellis Island manifest, however, is a bit different. The red arrow points to the location for the same passenger.
   

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Amerika, Hamburg to New York, arriving 10 November 1907, list 37, line 8, Duvid Ett, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715.

Name detail from Ellis Island manifest

The names before and after this entry were the same on both the Hamburg and the Ellis Island manifests: Adam...Markus...Abram...David...Peter. This is definitely the entry for the same passenger, also from Uscieczko, on the Hamburg list.

Town and closest relative detail from Ellis Island manifest

 

In the name column a surname starting with the letter W had been obscured and "Ett" written in its place. The previously written first name was also blocked out and "Duvid" was written in its place. 

Marian L. Smith from United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) prepared (along with Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien) a JewishGen InfoFile regarding the meanings of markings one may find on manifest records: "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations."[2] 

Under the section heading "In the Name Column..." Smith provides clues regarding the possible meanings of markings found in the manifest column where passenger names are located. Names may have been clarified by a steamship company clerk prior to departure (in this case, unlikely, since the Hamburg manifest was not also changed); by a ship's purser while the ship was at sea, or by an immigration inspector at Ellis Island. It seems that usually this kind of change resulted in a line through the original name and alternative names or spellings written above or next to the original name. I have found this with, for example, a manifest page with Raya and Leja Grinfeld, a detail of which is shown, below.[3] 

Detail from Raya and Leja Grinfeld manifest

The complete blacking out of the name in Duvid Wenkert's case, does not seem to track with this explanation.

Smith goes on to explain more deliberate name changes (as this one seems to be). A more official correction could have been effected.  This may have included official paperwork perhaps associated with David's naturalization process.[4] Since David Ett's name did not match the name under which he immigrated, he may have applied for a correction of the passenger list. Once approved, a government clerk would officially correct the record by crossing out the old name and writing in the new one.

Of particular interest is the code written above his name on the Ellis Island manifest: VL 151 Leg 223291. According to Smith, the VL stands for "verification of landing." This could have been done if David had requested proof of legal admission to the United States. Unfortunately, the files created during this verification no longer survive. 

But it is interesting, knowing David Ett's military record and convoluted path to citizenship, to consider why and when such verification may have occurred. In summary, he first declared his intent to naturalize on 17 September 1912.[5] Based on his World War I military service (aborted by the federal government because he was from Austria - an ally of Germany), he applied for expedited citizenship on 16 December 1927.[6] That petition was rejected since he had been deemed an enemy alien and removed from military service. On 18 July 1939, he was finally granted citizenship.[7] So, David's landing record may have been verified during his several attempts at naturalization, or associated with his aborted military service.

In a typical naturalization procedure for those who'd arrived after 1906, the information David provided in his declaration of intention (first papers) would have been checked against his manifest stored at his port of entry - Ellis Island.  

We do know from another marking on his manifest (near the occupation column) that his manifest was checked in both 1936 and 1938. 

These checks were associated with his 1939 petition. According to the Smith's Manifest Markings section "In the occupation column," the number starting with 2 would indicate that the processing office had been in New York City. 

The 6-17-36 (corrected from 6-16-36) corresponds to the date his Certificate of Arrival was issued.

But also note that his name on the Certificate of Arrival is shown as Duvid Ett. So, the V.L. check and the complete blacking out of his name occurred before the Certificate of Arrival was issued.

David Ett's 1939 petition does indicate a change of name from Wenkert to Ett. 

Detail from David Ett's Petition for Naturalization [7]

I do not know if additional paperwork may exist in his C-File at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (something I may have to check).

It is also interesting to consider why David arrived as Duvid Wenkert in the first place. Names on manifests reflect the name given when steamship companies sold their tickets for a voyage.[8] On column 15 of his Ellis Island manifest, David indicated that he'd purchased his ticket himself. 

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, at the time David was born, required that marriages be registered with civil authorities. If religious marriages were not registered with the civil authorities, children born of those unions would be considered illegitimate and children's surnames would, for official purposes, be that of their mothers.[9]  

The second page of the Ellis Island record indicates that David had been born in Tluste (now Tovste, Ukraine). While we do not have birth records from Tluste, I do have a birth record for David's younger sister, Jutte in 1894 in Skole. That record indicates that Jutte's parents were married only in a religious (not a civil) ceremony. Her mother was Perl Wenkert and her father Leib Heth [Ett].[10]

Perl Wenkert Ett died in 1895 in Skole. Her husband's name on her death record was Hersch Leib Ett.[11] On the Ellis Island manifest, David's father is identified as Leib Wenkert of Uscieczko. It appears that on the manifest, Leib was given the surname that matched his son's. Wenkert was, in fact, his wife's maiden name.

So, David Ett's name was likely changed at Ellis Island. Exactly when he changed his name from his mother's surname to his father's, is a good question. Based upon what we know about the procedures of processing immigrants as they arrived at Ellis Island, it is unlikely that his manifest record was altered from Wenkert to Ett at that time. But, it was definitely changed, in an unequivocal fashion, sometime later.

Notes:

1. Vincent Cannato and Marian L. Smith state a strong cases for this conclusion. Vincent J. Cannato, American Passage: The History of Ellis Island, (New York: Harper, 2010), pp.402-403. Marian L. Smith, "American names: declaring independence," Immigration Daily, ILW.com (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0808-smith.shtm : accessed 28 May 2014).

2. Marian L. Smith with the assistance of Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien, "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations," JewishGen.org (http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Manifests/ : accessed 28 May 2014).
3. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 June 2012), manifest, George Washington, Bremen to New York, arriving 5 December 1921, list 8, Raya and Leja Grinfeld, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715.
4. Marian L. Smith with the assistance of Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien, "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations," JewishGen.org.
5. Kings County, New York, Kings County Supreme Court, digital images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 August 2013), Declaration of Intent, number 27049, vol. 55, page 49, David Ett, 17 September 1912.   
6. "New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 July 2009), Petition for Naturalization for David Ett, 16 December 1927, New York, citing United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, National Archives and records Administration Series M1972, Roll 551.
7. U. S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York, Petition for Naturalization number 259528, David Ett, 18 July 1939.
8.  Marian L. Smith, "American names: declaring independence," Immigration Daily, ILW.com.
9. Wynne, Suzan F. The Galitzianers: The Jews of Galicia, 1772-1918, Wheatmark: 2006, p. 59.
10. Stanislawow Wojewodztwa, Skole, Birth Record for Jutte Ett, 21 January 1894;  "Jewish Metrical Books, Town of Skole Deaths 1878-80 & 1883-1903," Fond 300, Sygnatura 1149, Akta 6, Archiwum Giowne Akt Dawnych (Central Archives of Historical Records), Warsaw, Poland.
11. Stanislawow Wojewodztwa, Skole, Death Record for Perl Wenkart Ett, 17 August 1895; "Jewish Metrical Books, Town of Skole Deaths 1889-1895," Fond 300, Year 1895, Sygnatura 1871, Akta 47, Archiwum Giowne Akt Dawnych (Central Archives of Historical Records), Warsaw, Poland.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Louis Liebross' 1895 Passenger Manifest

When I'd first located the 1897 passenger manifest for Louis Liebross (my great grandfather), I almost stopped looking for others. Somehow I found this second one - or should I say earlier one from 1895. [1] This manifest provided yet another creative spelling of Liebross: Liberos.

On 16 May 1895 Leser Liberos landed in New York Harbor on the S.S. Lahn. The Lahn had traveled from Bremen, Germany.

Detail of left side of manifest.

No.: 320
Ticket No.: 553
Name in Full: Leser Liberos
Age: 35
Sex: m
Married or Single: m
Calling or occupation: laborer
Country of which they are Citizens: [blank]

Detail of right side of manifest.

Native Country: Austria
Intended Destination or Location, State or Territory: Brooklyn, NY
State of Passengers other than Cabin, whether Citizens of the United States: -
Transient, In Transit or intending protracted sojourn: NY
Location of Compartment or Space occupied forward amidships or alt.: Steerage Comps 3
Number of pieces of baggage: [check mark]
Prt of Embarkation: Bremen
Date and Cause of Death: 1-0 [marking likely unrelated to this passenger entry]

How can I be sure this was, indeed, my Leiser Liebross? The proof is somewhat circumstantial. My Leiser arriving in 1897 indicated he was 37 years old. This Leser in 1895 (two years earlier) shows an age of 35. 

We know that Leiser's brother Simon was in Brooklyn as early as 1892: at that time living at 26 Moore Street. In an 1893-4 Brooklyn city directory, Simon is living at 203 Boerum, Brooklyn. [2] In an 1897-8 city directory, he is at 244 Boerum, Brooklyn. [3] On this 1895 manifest, Leser states he is going to Brooklyn. No other Liebrosses are listed in any directories in Brooklyn (or in New York City, for that matter).

The 1897 Leiser indicates that he is a merchant. The 1895 Leser says he's a laborer. There is a chance he changed his profession between 1895 and 1897, but, no one was likely to check the occupations claimed by immigrants. And there are studies indicating that the quality of immigrants' occupational reporting was low. [4] At this point, I have no way to evaluate the two responses to the occupation question or resolve the conflict.

My hunch is that this 1895 trip was a visit by Leiser to the United States either in advance of making a decision to move the family or in preparation for such a move.

Notes: 
1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Lahn, Bremen to New York, arriving 16 May 1895, Liberos, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: M237; Microfilm Roll: 641; Line: 5; Page Number: G.
2. Lain's Brooklyn City Directory, 1893-1894 (Brooklyn, New York: Lain and Healy, 1894), 747, entry for "Liebross Sam'l"; digital image, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 3 April 2010).
3. Lain's Brooklyn City Directory, 1897-1898 (Brooklyn, New York: Lain and Healy, 1898), 908, entry for "Liebros Simon"; digital image, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 24 July 2010).

4. Joel Perlmann (1996), "Selective Migration as a Basis for Upward Mobility? The Occupations of the Jewish Immigrants to the United States, ca. 1900," Levy Economic Institute, Working Paper No. 172.